So after Monday's tactical masterclass that got a well deserved point from Liverlona we find ourselves with for me two must win games that even this early on will start to shape how our season may or may not go.
Monday was a tough watch as a United fan but you know exactly what Jose's thinking was and credit to two players that myself included thought were the wrong choices - Fellaini and Ashley.
Now we all know the Pogba conundrum and the nest i've seen him was when we played Leicester and he had the freedom which he hasn't really had.
Rooney has been the hot topic of conversation, and has been dropped (rightly so IMHO but i still feel he has a part to play)
Zlat started on fire but has slowed down rapidly and watching him over the last 3 games has been as useful as Rooney would have been.
That said Herrera has been brilliant, really taken to that role and good for him. Carrick and especially Morgan are looking more and more surplus to requirements.
The team for tonight for me would be:
De gea
Valencia Bailly Smalling Shaw
Morgan Pogba
Lingard/Depay Mata Martial/Micky (Either or one of them will be fit)
Rashford/Rooney
That gives Zlat and Blind a rest and also gives some of the fringe players a chance in a game we should be winning with the quality we have.
On sunday I think we may see another typical Jose display as he will not want to lose this game at all.
The team i'd go with would be:
De gea
Valencia Bailly Smalling Blind
Herrera Pogba
Miki Mata Martial/Rashford
Zlatan
Thoughts?
Team for Tonight and Sunday
posted on 20/10/16
Not that I expect it to happen, but looking at our current side, what I think represents best balance and factoring in the players Mourinho seems to not favour (which unfortunately seems to include Carrick), I'd love to see a midfield that looks like this:
--------------------------Herrera
Mkhitaryan--F.Mensah--Pogba--Martial
I think to play with a deep lying player like Herrera requires a bit of compensation defensively from one of the other midfielders, and that isn't going to come from Pogba.
At the same time, to get the best our of Pogba requires giving him freedom from deep, which requires a deep lying passer (Herrera) and a more conservative box-to-box player. From the current ranks that player could be young Tim.
As a midfield I think there's some interesting similarities between Mourinho's early Chelsea team.
posted on 20/10/16
Berba
I see where you're coming from, and in the more difficult away fixtures, the benefit of having a player like TFM in there.
That said, short passing is not (yet) Timmy's strongest attribute, and your side would rely quite heavily on Pogba to work everything that came through the centre, unless you were to switch out Herrera and TFM.
For me, if Herrera can keep this kind of form up - and he was quite brilliant against Liverpool - you can switch TFM for Mata.
There are a bunch of benefits in this. Improving the contribution to team ball retention and creativity in the role would deliver the most obvious benefits, plus offer more creative attacking opportunities, like use of overloading triangles on the right between Mata, Mkhi/Lingard and Valencia (which in turn create space for Pogba and Herrera centrally), take some of the pressure off Herrera when he needs to offload quickly, and provide a bit more flexibility and dynamism (Mata and Lingard, in particular, can - and have at times this season - switch roles dragging markers out of position and upsetting the defensive balance).
Basically, with the talent we have in the squad, I think once we're fully oiled and road tested we should be controlling just about all of our home games and most of the aways, and I don't see the need for a player selected based more on their physical and defensive attributes alongside Pogba as well as a regista.
posted on 20/10/16
Rosso,
I take your point and largely agree, hence adding the caveat around which players Mourinho seems to favour/disfavour.
What I like about the idea of Herrera, Fosu and Pogba as a combination is to some degree it has a similar profile to the Juve trio that Pogba seemed to perform best from (Pirlo, Vidal, Pogba) and Mourinho's Makelele, Essien, Lampard trio.
What we lack from our squad is that Vidal/Essien player. I think we've all seen the potential for young Tim to adopt that role. I agree his passing may not be at the required level yet, though his power, pace and willingness to drive forward with the ball and be adventurous makes for an exciting alternative.
..."I don't see the need for a player selected based more on their physical and defensive attributes alongside Pogba as well as a regista."
Maybe not - as before, I agree to a certain extent. But Mourinho clearly does feel this way, especially in certain games (Fellaini). A player like Tim could offer similar attributes to Fellaini but with added pace, drive and dynamism.
I also made a point of putting Mhki in my proposed lineup as like you, I feel that we'd need a bit of extra guile in there somewhere were we to swap out Mata for a player like Tim.
posted on 20/10/16
Don't really care about tonight, happy to rest most of the first teamers.
What I do wanna see is Mhki start today and hopefully show enough to get a start on sunday, could make a big difference.
Wouldn't mind also seeing Rashford or Martial as the lone striker and play with a bit more pace.
posted on 20/10/16
Comment Deleted by Article Creator
posted on 20/10/16
Games free on bt showcase channel tonight
posted on 20/10/16
comment by BerbaKing11 (U6256)
posted 1 hour, 36 minutes ago
Rosso,
I take your point and largely agree, hence adding the caveat around which players Mourinho seems to favour/disfavour.
What I like about the idea of Herrera, Fosu and Pogba as a combination is to some degree it has a similar profile to the Juve trio that Pogba seemed to perform best from (Pirlo, Vidal, Pogba) and Mourinho's Makelele, Essien, Lampard trio.
What we lack from our squad is that Vidal/Essien player. I think we've all seen the potential for young Tim to adopt that role. I agree his passing may not be at the required level yet, though his power, pace and willingness to drive forward with the ball and be adventurous makes for an exciting alternative.
..."I don't see the need for a player selected based more on their physical and defensive attributes alongside Pogba as well as a regista."
Maybe not - as before, I agree to a certain extent. But Mourinho clearly does feel this way, especially in certain games (Fellaini). A player like Tim could offer similar attributes to Fellaini but with added pace, drive and dynamism.
I also made a point of putting Mhki in my proposed lineup as like you, I feel that we'd need a bit of extra guile in there somewhere were we to swap out Mata for a player like Tim.
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I see the point, and it's hard to argue with the success Jose made of those midfields at Chelsea and Juve.
Isn't it great though to be discussing the nuances in lineups now that Jose has spent just a little time working with the squad, shifting to (or at least towards) the 4-3-3 so many of us have been hoping for, and revising the starting eleven, rather than just despairing about Rooney playing every week and banging our heads against the wall repeatedly having watched another 'philosophical' performance
posted on 20/10/16
Very true Rosso!
I'm hoping that in the not too distant future we'll be arguing about how to accommodate Pogba in midfield whilst playing a 4-4-2 with Rashford and Martial dovetailing as the new Yorke and Cole!
posted on 20/10/16
comment by BerbaKing11 (U6256)
posted 15 minutes ago
Very true Rosso!
I'm hoping that in the not too distant future we'll be arguing about how to accommodate Pogba in midfield whilst playing a 4-4-2 with Rashford and Martial dovetailing as the new Yorke and Cole!
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Dream on son...
posted on 20/10/16
Mhki not even in the squad... Getting a bit frustrating